Member postings for JohnF

Have you tried Columbia Metals? they do a wide range of copper alloys.

One or two thoughts--what size of items are you intending to machine, if it is all small parts why run a large machine, then on the other hand what will do large will also do small !

I have the option of both a Bridgeport and an Emco FB2, I do a lot of small parts for which I always use the Emco -- if its larger components or a lot of stock removal then the Bridgport comes in its own. Horses for courses. If it came to a choice of one or the other and I had the room I would go for the Bridgeport.

It souds as though the one on offer may well be a good buy Francis's advice to take an experienced machinist with you is good advice. Turret mills are a very versatile design and well suited to "our" many different machining situations.

Not cheap but there is a company in Yorshire who specialize in overhauling Bridgports to avery high standard--if you need it I can find the details but will have to dig them out.

John

Paul, Its worth bearing in mind carbon steel is actually capable of being harder than HSS and will take a finer edge. An old guy I knew in the gun trade in Birmingham always made his chamber reamers from case hardened mild steel and because they were "sharper" than HSS, the results were excellent. Have to say though modern tooling is now very "technical" and the results from it are amazing!

What size dia are your ball ends? Presume you have thought about a ball turning attachment!

John

Hi Windy, putting in a joggle probably not the best idea, its a pretty tough and not very ductile material, better to do it with heat but there again it depends on how big a joggle and how close together you want the bends? If you do try it cold it depends on the final use--heat treated or left soft? If to be left soft it would be wise to normalise the component.

Form tools, yes it works I have used it in the past but only on softer steels, you would have to run quite slow with plenty of coolant to avoid overheating.

Heat treatment, depends on the size of the tool [x section] you may well be able to use a torch providing it is big enough to get the tool [cutting end] to the correct temperature and quench in oil, temper VERY carefully to a very pale straw and heat slowly. Also make sure you are in daylight when tempering do not try to do it in artificial light the colours are not correct.

Regards John

Terry, still not a problem the only reason for the male part was to asscertain the thread form and several other member's have suggested methods of obtaining this, you only need the thread angle, 60deg or 55deg etc. the rest is easy!

Where are you situated?

Simple answer is yes! but it would be helpful [not essential] if the male part was available to ascertain the thread form/angle. Also one would have to have a lathe of suitable size -- what's the O/D of the hub?

Hi Mike, not familiar with this table but I would not expect any play in the bearing particularly on a Myford product [even though they may have imported this item?]

The only one I ever had occasion to take apart was some 40 years ago and that had pre-stressed angular contact bearings--can't recall the make but I would suggest that something is wrong--Iwould not be happy with it !! only my opinion !

Maybe the two guys ex-Myford engineers will be able to help--search Myford in this forum and you should find them.

John

Would suggest grooves would be counter productive, a plain pully should be best and the wire will I think just self align? I think grooves , unless in spiral [thread??] the wire at some point would have to cross the groove crest.

Just my thoughts----John

Not familiar with the article you are refering to but possibly if you make say 2 turns of the wire on the pulley and apply a little tention it will have sufficient friction to drive the table back and forth.

I used a simmilar system on a fishing line measure for spooling line from bulk spools/

Good luck.

Try a supplier of hydraulic ram material or maybe look for a scrap one, it is chrome plated and very accurate for size. Don't worry about cutting through the chrome you can nick it with a grinder then it will cut with a saw.

I would look for a good used Albrecht chuck, lots on Ebay but you need to keep a search for what you want, many listed are quite expensive but I have bought them for under £60 in excellent condition. You can also buy a re-furbishing kit from Albrecht -- jaws springs ball bearings etc. at a modest cost.

Another make is Johansson, not so popular now but I have some in smaller sizes [up to 3/8"] I bought some 50 years ago and they are still as accurate today despite constant daily use.

Quality always pays dividends long term.

Cheers John

Hi, sounds to me that they are standard taper pins 1/16" dia, generally taper pins are in inches per foot but i would have to look it up its to many years ago to remeber !!! Chronos sell them for £3.60 per 10off

John

John [icon] Seaspns greetings, message me and I will send you some, have plenty of suitable material in my "stores"

Cheers John

Hi Alll --- just let you know A & R Precision have some more Myford & Boxford UK made dickson tool holders on Ebay

**LINK**

UI have bought these and they are spot on and far better than the imported clones. A little more expensive but well worth the extra in my opinion.

Cheers John

Hi Robert, Same as NJH, I too bought a 4" SC 4 jaw from them and whilst it is not as good as my Burnard chucks it is very good value for money at about £80.

I can pick hole in it but it is not bad for accuracy -- how long for remains to be seen but you pays you money ! Overall I have been happy with everything I've bought from RDG balancing against the price paid.

Cheers John

Well Chaps,

What “ a do about nothing” and Ian there is only ONE true version of English !

British English!

It evolved here, we wrote the dictionary here in Britain – it’s the rest of the world that can’t spell !

Hi All, I have one of these from a different company and have found a problem with battery life. It seems there is a small drain on the battery all the time and the only solution is to remove the battery after use--unless of course you use the tool frequently. I do not, its mainly used to set themilling M/C head. I have spoken to the suppliers and they told me about the drain feature.

Has anyone else found the same problem?

P & P I was involved in M/O for many years and belive me guys you are not being over charged and the companies are definatly not into profit -- quite the reverse in many cases they are subsidising the postage from their margin on the product.

Richard, I don't agree with Siddley re Myford, yes they can be pricey but they are one of the best small machines around. I have both a Super 7 and an Emco Maximat 11. the Myford is well over 30 years old and has been in constant use and its still good for 0.0005" tolerance.

The main thing is make sure anything you buy has not been ill used and don't buy unseen on an auction site--things always look better in the photo's than they are!

One advantage of Myford is the vast array of attachments and info available for these machines, there are of course many other makes that will serve you well and even the latest far east machines are not too bad and many people turn out excellent work using them. My personal choice would always be British or European made.

It sounds as though your workshop is to be a wooden building? best way is to insulate well with Kingspan or similar and don't forget the floor. Then some form of low heating will help keep rust at bay.

John

Fizzy, I too like Grey have an FB2 , had it for 20 + years and its in daily use, smooth as silk and accurate coupled with incredible versatility. I am not familiar with the Emcomat 7 but these machines are superior to many of the far eastern imports, having said that these have improved dramaticaly over the later years and do represent good value for money.

There is an FB2 for sale on this site in the Classifieds under Mills.

John

Siddley, more or less all been said, but slugging is the easy way to go and possibly the most accurate, its difficult to measure over the lands of rifling and almost impossible to measure the groove dia without specialist tools on small calibres.

Cerrosafe, Cerrobend are forms of Wood's Metal both available in the UK -- last I bought was from Frys metals about 30 years ago.

Good for measuring firearm chambers or bores but be sure to lubricate first otherwise it will stick to the parent metal -- just like tinning when soldering. Also good to lube the barrel when slugging.

Air gun ammo is sold in two sizes 5.5 & 5.56mm most continenetal ammo is 5.5 and UK / USA is 5.56

John